Re:Activism

Re:Activism is an analog game with direction provided through SMS and cell phone technology. Players race through neighborhoods to trace the history of riots, protests, and other political episodes in the history of New York City. Teams pit themselves against the clock and test their puzzle-solving skills to locate important sites representing acts of civic engagement and struggles for greater social justice. Activated by text messages from Re:Activism Central, teams reaching target locations respond to site-specific challenges that reinforce the historical content. Players must also activate strategic thinking by choosing to focus on racing or puzzle-solving, or a combination of both, to win points and become the most-active activists to win the game. Re:Activism was initially developed for, and first played during, the Spring 2008 Come Out And Play Festival. It has since been documented online and adapted into a downloadable kit to encourage redesign for use in other cities.